The present invention relates to a powder that comprises psyllium particles coated with gum arabic.
Psyllium seed husk has use as a fiber supplement and a bulk laxative drug because the psyllium seed husk has a capacity for substantial swelling when ingested. This swelling makes the psyllium husk a useful bulking agent. Ingestion of psyllium seed husk has been demonstrated to yield a number of benefits to the consumer, including Taxation, appetite suppression and cholesterol reduction.
The psyllium seed includes a husk portion that is a cleaned, dried seed coat of the psyllium seed. The husk portion is separated from the seed by winnowing and thrashing. Typically, the husk portion of the psyllium seed is ground into a powder to make the bulk laxative drug. The psyllium bulk laxative drug powder is then ingested by a consumer after the consumer stirs the powder into a glass of water.
The use of the psyllium husk powder as a bulk laxative has not been universally accepted by consumers, however, because the powder does not readily disperse in water. In particular, the psyllium husk powder does not disperse in water with simple stirring. Instead, the psyllium husk powder aggregates to form gel-coated lumps. The gel-coated lumps have interiors that are substantially dry. Additionally, the gel-coated lumps tend to float on the surface of water causing the lumps to clump into large masses.
Attempts have been made to improve the dispersibility of psyllium husk powder in water. The attempts have included controlling particle size of the psyllium powder during a processing step of size reduction. The Meer et al. patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,051, issued Feb. 26, 1991, describes a product that includes apple fiber, fructose, gum arabic, flavors and psyllium husk powder having a particle size that passes through a No. 50 mesh screen.
The attempts have also included coating the particles of psyllium powder with a surface coating. One surface coating described by Colliopoulos et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,280, includes a dispersing agent, maltodextrin. A second surface coating described by Powell et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,263, includes one of the dispersing agents, propylene glycol (PG) or polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) or a blend of PG and PVP. The use of PVP and PG is, however, limited by handling problems resulting from high viscosities developed in PVP and PG solutions.
The PG or PVP dispersing agents are applied to psyllium particles with non-aqueous solvent carriers such as volatile alcohol. The use of volatile alcohol to deliver PG, PVP or blends of PG and PVP to psyllium powder surfaces during processing has presented safety problems to many processors because the alcohol is flammable.
A third attempt to improve psyllium husk powder dispersibility has included cold blending. Cold blending includes mixing psyllium powder with granular diluents such as sucrose and dextrose. Other granular diluents include chemical compounds capable of reacting when in contact with moisture to produce carbon dioxide. The granular diluents are added in concentrations of up to 50% of the cold blend.
The cold blending of psyllium with granular diluents has created a situation where the more dense diluent will fall to the bottom of a glass of water while the psyllium powder will ball up near or on the surface of the water. Moreover, the solubility of the granular diluents is much higher than the psyllium husk powder. This increased solubility favors rapid dispersibility, and more importantly, dissolution of the granular diluents. However, the psyllium powder is left behind in an undispersed state.
One other problem of cold blending psyllium powder with a granular diluent such as sucrose or dextrose is that these diluents are metabolizable sugars. As such, their use by consumers in a psyllium bulk laxative is limited to non-diabetic consumers.
One other attempt to improve psyllium dispersibility has included preparing a tablet having a psyllium powder component. The Casillan patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,200, describes a tablet that includes psyllium powder, a gelling agent such as polysorbate 80, a binding agent such as polyvinyl pyrollidone or acacia and a disintegrant such as microcrystalline cellulose. The tablet disintegrates in the gastrointestinal tract of a consumer.
Another attempt to improve psyllium powder dispersibility has included coextrusion of psyllium husks with citric acid under controlled heating conditions. The coextrusion is believed to effect a reduction in microbial growth and to improve dispersibility.